Unlocking the Viral Unknown: How Protein Analysis and AI Are Revealing a Hidden World of Viruses

Introduction For decades, virology has operated with an inherent blind spot. Scientists have been highly effective at identifying viruses that resemble known genetic patterns, yet vast swathes of the viral universe—often described as “viral dark matter”—have remained undetected. This limitation is not trivial; it represents a systemic gap in humanity’s ability to anticipate emerging biological…